I knew what I signed up for when I adopted a husky, but I'm still shocked with how much fur I brush off of Max every night. How does it regenerate so quick? lol

I was just wondering what brushes and other tools work best for helping keep his fur under control. I have a Furminator and it works well but it still seems to leave a good bit. Do y'all veteran owners have any tips or tricks to make it work better, or a variety of tools to recommend?

Also, a friend told me that giving him a fish oil pill every day will help with his coat. Is there any truth to this?

gee we have talked brushes to death but it seems we don't have a thread on just brushes, should do that. most of us have more then one brush we use because the coat is different all over the body. i use a knock off of the Furminator, its ok but i LOVE my shedding blade and rake for the thick areas, i think the furminator works the best used after the other brushes. there are a few people here giving fish oil as part of the diet, i just feed a fish based food with the other food and that helps my 2.
i know Claudia just did a response on the brushes and maybe she will copy it here for you.

worser wrote:

I knew what I signed up for when I adopted a husky, but I'm still shocked with how much fur I brush off of Max every night. How does it regenerate so quick? lol

As I've said many times before, if I had a dime for every time I heard this I'd be rich!

worser wrote:

I was just wondering what brushes and other tools work best for helping keep his fur under control. I have a Furminator and it works well but it still seems to leave a good bit. Do y'all veteran owners have any tips or tricks to make it work better, or a variety of tools to recommend?

First I would recommend having a read through the following two threads:
What BRUSH?

High Velocity Dryers

Alright, with that out of the way, I would second Jenn's comments on multiple brushes. As you've already discovered husky coats are not the same all throughout so you will find some brushes work better in some areas than others. Not only that but husky coats vary from individual to individual so what works for some individuals may or may not necessarily work for others.

Furminators are a great tool and you will find pros and cons with it, one major issue is that on some coats it can strip and break the top coat which you don't want, so pay attention to what it's doing to your dogs coat. Furminators tend not to work on the thicker areas of the coat so for those areas many of us use other brushes such as the undercoat rake, shedding blade, slicker, or even a regular flea comb. Ultimately (like with food) it ends up being a trial and error thing as you try different products in search of the best thing for your dog. For me, I get the best results with my HV dryer. Second to that my best results come from using a double row undercoat rake then finishing off with a Furminator type tool (I use the Furbuster like Jenn). I know some people who get better results with a flea comb over an undercoat rake for thick coats and others who prefer the shedding blade over the undercoat rake. Some have good success with the slicker but my sibe hates the slicker so it sits at home collecting dust.

worser wrote:

Also, a friend told me that giving him a fish oil pill every day will help with his coat. Is there any truth to this?

Yes, the fish oil will help with his skin and coat. Don't expect it to diminish the vast amounts that your sibe sheds though if that's the reason you're asking.

I'd say in theory fish oil would help the coat but in all reality I think you would have to give them so much that they would have the Hersey squirts because of it.

Adobo & Biko receive fish oil cap one in the morning and then in the evening but I do it more for the cardiac health reasons. (Freeze the caps the dogs love the snap crunch sound and you benefit from not having fish burp)

Len, are you giving human fish oil?
i take these my self can i use that on the dogs to i wonder?... freezing seems like a good idea so they do not squirt all over when bite into.
http://www.naturemade.com/Products/Supplements/Triple-Omega

jbealer wrote:

Len, are you giving human fish oil?
i take these my self can i use that on the dogs to i wonder?... freezing seems like a good idea so they do not squirt all over when bite into.
http://www.naturemade.com/Products/Supplements/Triple-Omega

Jenn, yes the same for as far as I'd concerned fish oil is fish oil, unless it comes from the Dogfish. ;^)


What I use is: http://www.riteaidonlinestore.com/rite-aid-fish-oil-softgels-1000-mg/qxp79395

Of what I understand is that the regular diet we already consume more then enough Omega 6, so I lean more towards the Omega 3's.

http://thehealthyskeptic.org/how-too-much-omega-6-and-not-enough-omega-3-is-making-us-sick

I give mine fish oil too! The same fish oil caps that I take! I do it for cardiovascular health also, but I give them 3. Is that too much???

Thanks for the replies!

You've already got the different types of brushes and the 'why's'....and I have the same as well: Furminator, shedding blade, and a double row rake....but the double row rake that I have has rotating pins which causes less friction, so it rakes out the dead fur and nothing else....both my 2 love the rake...they will even lay and spread eagle for me to get their bellies....and I also have an HV dryer.

I read from a couple of different sources that a raw diet helps reduce the amount of shedding. Then I heard from one person on the forum (can't remember who what thread it was in) that when they switched from a partial raw diet to all kibble, the next shedding cycle, the shedding was at least double the amount on kibble than it was on a partial raw diet.

I'll have to see how much Ginger sheds out later this summer as it'll be a year in August since we've adopted her. She really didn't shed much this past cycle, but this is her first Spring/Summer with us.

Thanks for all the information! I picked up a few brushes and it's made a big difference. Last night I didn't get as much fur off of Max as I have been, so hopefully (just hopefully) he is pretty much through blowing his coat and I'm seeing the results of daily brushings and a good diet.


All though I have gotten used to cleaning the house everyday, so shedding is good for something!